Top 5 – South African Words you need to know

Nick CoetzerBlog



A South African favourite! The word lekker is best described as a feeling of satisfaction. How was the food? It was lekker! How is the weather? Lekker! Howsit? Lekker!.


This is one you might hear fairly often depending on which part of South Africa you are in. The word ‘howsit’ means exactly that, ‘How is it?’ But what is the ‘it’ you might ask? Well this can be anything really – you, the food, the weather. An acceptable way to respond is simply, ‘lekker’


South Africans are generally a meat-eating, outdoors-loving, beer-drinking kind of people. When you combine these, the result is a ‘braai’. A braai is simply a barbeque (but you must never tell a South African that!). We love braaiing, there is nothing better than the smell of boerewors sizzling over hot coals while in the company of good mates and family.


Boerewors and braai go together like fish and chips, bangers and mash, tea and scones. Essentially a boerewors is a type of sausage made of mostly of beef, but usually contains pork and lamb as well. The name is derived from the Afrikaans word boer meaning ‘farmer’ and wors meaning ‘sausage’. This much-loved South African staple is normally served with pap (also a very traditional food made from ground corn) or on a bread roll when it is then affectionately known as a wors roll.


In most parts of the world, a robot is some type of machine programmed to  to carry out a certain function. In South Africa a robot is a traffic light.